


A Taste Of Christmas

by SHADOWSQUILL



Series: The Tribulations of a Human Time Lord [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: A Taste Of Christmas, F/M, Gen, Metacrisis Ninth Doctor, Ninetoo, Sequel, The Summertime Of Our Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21756673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SHADOWSQUILL/pseuds/SHADOWSQUILL
Summary: After a very turbulent summer holiday in Broadchurch, the Metacrisis Ninth Doctor and Rose are trying to get used to an almost ordinary and human life while the cold season settles down...
Relationships: Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: The Tribulations of a Human Time Lord [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568074
Kudos: 9
Collections: 31 Days of Ficmas 2019





	1. Chapter 1

Rose was an artist. The Doctor had always known it. One day, she had forgotten her sketchbook on the pilot seat and he had flipped through it while she was asleep in her room, somewhere in the TARDIS. There were several drawings inside, drawings of him, drawings of her, drawings of them. She had spent a lot of time studying him, studying his faces, studying his bodies and his every gesture and she had drawn it all in her sketchbook. He had kept a page, had taped it on the wall of his bedroom in the TARDIS. The other hm was probably looking at it every time he was getting in his room. Or had he forgotten about her? Was he refusing to even think about her now that they were forever separated? That was what he would have done. Rose Tyler had brought him back to life when he only aspired to die and fate – with the faces of Daleks and Cybermen and new Doctor – had ripped her away from him. And it had reunited them in the most unexpected way years later.

Their story was art too. He was a broken person. He was broken in so many pieces that sticking them back together to recreate the man he had once been before the war was impossible. Yet, the brave and compassionate Rose Tyler had taken the pieces she could find and had assembled them together. Instead of trying to reproduce something she had never known, she created a new version of him and added colours to his dull dark world. She was done just in time for him to regenerate into this pretty boy who forgot how to take care of her or how to cherish her. This time, she had been the one who was shattered beyond repairs and no one was there to help her. Her family had let her down slowly. They had thought that as a responsible adult, she could handle the situation and she had thought so too. Working on finding him – the other version of him – had kept her busy but the many failures had weakened the already fragile shell she had built around herself.

She hadn’t given up on art as he found out after his arrival in this universe. Her flat had a couple of frames on the wall from artists that never made it in in their original universe and there was one of hers. An original production called “Night sky from Barcelona”. He had never taken her there with this face. The pretty boy did. Yet, it wasn’t him standing next to her under the starry sky. It was him with his leather jacket and short-cropped hair. It was his back and it was his hand holding hers. All this time she had been wanting _him_ back. The broken, brooding soldier. It had taken him some time to accept this truth but the events of last summer had convinced him of it. It had been a long path. Now they were as happy as they could be. Which wasn’t an easy task when you had Jackie Tyler as stepmother. When she had found out about their matching tattoos and the meaning behind, she had completely lost her mind. He had never been so insulted and slapped in all his life.

They had settled down in Broadchurch. After the end of the summer, they had gone back to London and the Doctor had soon dived back into his old quirks: pacing around the house, refusing to eat, depressing, stressing and having troubles to sleep. The town was having a terrible effect on him because of everything that had happened there in their original universe and for Rose, it was obvious that they couldn’t live in London anymore. It hadn’t been long to find a house thanks to their new friends – mostly Ellie Miller – help. Before the end of October, they were settled down in their new and cosy place in the heights of Broadchurch with a nice viewpoint on the cliffs and the sea. That had been an important point for the Doctor: having a viewpoint on the infinity of the world. This was reassuring him. The world was bigger on the outside.

During all November, Rose had watched him as he sat in front of the large patio door and observed the waves crashing on the shore. As it was getting deeper into the autumn season, it would get darker earlier and mist would cover the land plunging the land in the creepy atmosphere of horror movies. Rose never got the right to go out when it was dark and misty. At least, she couldn’t go alone. He was insisting on going with her. She had proven her bravery and her fearless attitude by traveling by his side, by working with Torchwood to get back to him but he was firm in his decision to accompany her out whenever the mist was spreading. She had missed this overprotective side of his when he changed and even as a former kid from the Estates who had grown in a strong and independent woman, she liked this particularity of his.

She had stopped working for Torchwood shortly after their summer vacations. The Doctor still didn’t what was the reason behind such a mystery around the agency. He wanted to nose around, to find out what was so wrong with them and he actually was doing it behind Rose’s back. The only fact that they had led experiences on her convinced him that they were doing wrong and had to be stopped. Obviously, this wasn’t without danger and it was harder to operate without access, without a TARDIS, without a trustworthy companion. Rose would lecture him if she was told what he was doing and he knew no one else that could travel and work with the way he used to be working with her. He doubted he would have taken any other companion on board if Rose had still been around. She was the best. As were Jack, Martha and Donna. But Rose was Rose.

His Rose had given up on her job for him. She was unemployed because of him. Broadchurch was a small town and it was hard to find a proper job. She tried the police, the _Broadchurch Echo_ , the schools – Torchwood had had the advantage to have trained and given her the proper diplomas – and every little job she could find in the classified ads but she never got anything. He had suggested her to try and make a living of her art. From them on, he had sort of lost her. Together, they had sacrificed a large room of their house and turned it into a workshop where she could unleash her creativity. It was already filled with loads of artistic materials he didn’t even know they had. Now, she was spending all her time in this room while he got lost in his thoughts in front of the patio door. Not a normal relationship, but they were far from normal.

Today, he wasn’t in the living room. He was in the kitchen. Rose hadn’t checked on him in a while, and neither had he gone to check on her. He was concocting spiced cider from a recipe he had found in a local magazine. From the tiny drops he had licked on his fingers, it didn’t taste bad. It even sounded really good. Why had he never tested the whole cooking world before? Domestics. He was refusing the domestics he was now doing. Also, he had had other preoccupations in mind back then. But the pretty boy’s eccentricity and Donna’s seek for a family were running in his veins now. Admitting his feelings for Rose was an opening on this life and he honestly didn’t regret it. He was living the life he thought he would never have with the woman he thought would never love him and he couldn’t happier than that.

The Doctor added the final touch to his drink and poured some in two glasses he took to Rose’s workshop. He knocked on the door. Got no answer. Rose surely was working with her Pods on. In this world, there weren’t such things as headphones. They were selling small round devices you were placing behind your ears. They were analysing your musical tastes from the information given by your brain and creating a whole playlist according to them, to your mood, to your current activity. It was totally obliterating the world around you and you could hear the music straight in your head. Great technology, but it also was increasing the percentage of unsolved crimes. With people being deaf to their surroundings, it was easier to rob, destroy and kill without being heard. It was also easier to get hit by a vehicle in the streets.

Thankfully, Rose was using them when she was in her workshop and only when he was home. Opening the door confirmed what he thought: Rose had her back on him and soft green dot was blinking behind her ears. The room was a real mess. There was a tarpaulin covered with paint stains of all colours on the ground; on the wall on his left, there were empty and unused frames, blank and used canvas of all sizes. On the wall facing the door, there was a long table – actually the table was composed of planks on trestles – that was weighting down under the numerous and various art supplies. Boxes with their contents written in large black letters were stacked under the makeshift table. The third wall of the room was taken by easels and other boxes. Rose wasn’t only painting. She was doing all sorts of art including manual works. This explained the different materials lying around the floor, the glue gun in her hand, the brush and pen stuck on her ears. She had an old apron tied around her waist. An apron that had definitely seen better days and many artworks.

He put the glass of warm spiced cider on the free and safe area of the table. Rose hadn’t seen or heard him coming. The sudden move beside her and the hand appearing next to her caused her to start and she was gonna attack when she realised it was him. She slapped his shoulder and switched off her Pods. He just smiled at her messy bun, at the paint on her face, at the unfinished work before her.

“You scared the shit out of me, you idiot!”

“Oi! I have nothing of an idiot!”

“My clever idiot.”

“Take that back.”

“My handsome clever idiot.”

“This won’t work.”

The Doctor was playing offended but Rose’s messy look and the golden flakes spread all over her hair, cheeks and hands were quite funny. It reminded him of the golden light surrounding her, burning in her eyes, when she came back for him that day. A terrible, terrible day. His fingers brushed over her face, wiping away the flakes stuck on her cheek. He was always having nightmares of that day. He remembered all too ell the molten lava when he absorbed the Vortex that he was killing her, the cells of his body dying one after another, slipping into another skin and losing everything and everyone he loved, watching through new eyes what he could have lived, watch his new self screw up everything with Rose, the rage and pain of losing her and moving on, the joy and fear to be born again, the rejection and terror of a new limited human life, the doubts eating him out and the dread of losing Rose or himself one day.

Her hands found his face. She cupped his cheeks, spreading flakes on his skin, rubbed her nose against his softly. She had sensed his change of mood. She had seen it in his eyes. His memories had come to bother him when they were playfully arguing. She didn’t know the cause of this sudden mood swing, and she didn’t care at the moment. She just wanted him back.

“The golden flakes suit you well,” she joked.

She rubbed her hands on his face and ran her fingers through his hair to share her flakes with him. Of course this wasn’t gonna please him. He was no man to go around with golden flakes everywhere. He had a bit of an ego and was quite a macho man. He did nothing that could make people question his masculinity. Even if the concept of masculinity and femininity were slightly different in this universe. After over 900 years of living by the same rules and concepts, it was hard to let go of them.

“You know what would be great?”

She let go of him and rummaged through the many boxes stacked under the table. A couple of them had the mention ‘Christmas’ on it and that’s naturally where she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a blue tinsel and wrapped it around his head like a crown.

“Oh, what about a jumper too?”

“Blue to go with my eyes?”

“If you want. As long as it’s one of those ugly Christmas sweaters.”

“No way. Don’t wanna be ridiculous, me.”

“Though you feel ridiculous already.”

“Maybe.”

“How do you feel with that tinsel on your head?”

“Like your human Christmas tree. And according to this beautiful wooden Advent calendar, I suppose you miss the holiday.”

“This is stupid.”

Rose humphed and hit the table with her fist. She caught the glass of cider before it spilled on her work. That was the first time she noticed it. The Doctor had one in his hands too. She took a sip. Took another. Licked her lips. That tasted amazing. She had been too young and too busy to have some in her original universe and this one had a very different way to celebrate the cold season…


	2. Chapter 2

November was coming to an end and the leaves were flying in the cold wind shaking the frail branches of the trees and forming enormous waves crashing on the beach. This, at least, was something that hadn’t changed. The seasons were the same. They were different on their dates and longevity but they wore the same names and were happening in the same order. Winter was from January first to March 31, Spring from April first to June 30; Summer from July first to August 31 and Autumn from September first to December 31. Inevitably, all the holidays they knew had changed too. There was no God or Holy Trinity to decide of the bank holidays and set the religious and pagan celebrations all over the year. There was no divinity, not as they were used to know them. Here, sciences were reigning over the tales of miracles accomplished by human Gods. Bank holidays were the celebration of the biggest scientists. It was something the Doctor could worship. Sciences were a passion and his fields of expertise. This universe was more advanced than their original one but it was still centuries behind compared to his knowledge.

February 14 was Lights’ Day in honour of Edison; March 17 was Quantum Physics’ Day for Einstein. Easter had been replaced by a celebration of Hun Hunaphu who head was said to be the origin of chocolate, and was set on April 25. Christmas… Well, Christmas simply didn’t exist anymore. It had never existed in this universe. No pagan rituals to exchange gifts. No happy holidays. This universe was terribly sad and dull. It needed new traditions, new holidays and more happiness. They needed to revive Christmas one way or another or they would go mad. They couldn’t live in a world that had them trapped, a world that looked like a war was gonna happen at any time with its dirigible-filled dark grey skies. A world where imagination and magic were absent. Like that Colony World 4378976.Delta Four they once visited with Jack a long time ago. Imagination was considered a bad thing there. In this universe, there simply had none of that and for people like Rose and the Doctor, this wasn’t bearable anymore.

Rose was particularly affected by this dull world. She had been a young lively woman when she had first ended up here and she had used all her knowledge and faith to build a machine to get back to him, to her real universe that never was perfect but was still better than where they were now. If Rose was stuck here today, it was mostly because of him, because of his self-destructive nature that was pushing him toward rage and war and the other Doctor hadn’t wanted that in his world. He hadn’t wanted another _self_ in the same universe as him. It was as comprehensible as selfish. He was nice enough to give them a bit of TARDIS coral and Donna had explained Rose how to increase the grow rate by a factor of 59. Which he would honestly have found on his own. He was that clever and desperate to travel again. The life down on Earth was nice but that wasn’t where he truly belonged. The ship was operational but it was better to let it grow in peace another while for it to be totally mature.

Plus, going on another planet to celebrate Christmas was not what Rose wanted and the Doctor was more focused on what she desired than what he himself needed. This universe, this Earth needed to discover the magic of this holiday that was cruelly lacking. The spiced cider had been a first step and it had convinced the Doctor that he had to organise a Christmas for his wife – as much as Jackie hated the ritual they had gone through, it was official and recognized by the administration ruling the country – and for their nephew, Tony, who never got to know this fantastic tradition. Jackie thought they all had passed the age to celebrate Christmas and when Tony came around, she couldn’t convince Pete to recreate this celebration for the little boy. But Rose was always bringing him some chocolate and a small present on December 25 and telling him Christmas tales. She was feeding an imagination he supposedly didn’t have. It was to underestimate the Tyler gene from another universe. Tony did have an extraordinary imagination and the seven years old boy was more than willing to participate to the Christmas operation.

Rose knew nothing of the Doctor’s plans – it was exceptional enough for him to have any plan – and didn’t suspect anything when he was alone with Tony. He had been strongly against domestics but he loved kids. He was being fantastic with her little brother. Today, she was busy cooking an apple pie with the fruits she had picked in their garden. This year, the harvest had been particularly good and Rose had made a lot of compotes, pies and other sugary desserts that had been ravishing the Doctor’s taste bugs. He preferred bananas but on this Earth, they had a terrible taste: the taste of pears. He could accept a lot of things but pears were his pet hate. He couldn’t stand them but loved bananas. And now he couldn’t eat them anymore because someone had had the bad idea to make them taste like pears? He really hated this world and could live here only because he had his Rose. If he had been alone, what could have happened?

Rose was dusting cinnamon on top of the pie when she heard the familiar sound of the Doctor’s boots in the path coming up to the front door of their house. She smiled when she heard the lighter happier feet of Tony who probably was skipping alongside the Doctor. Rose didn’t need to see them to picture them. Soon they would come through the door and Tony would run in the kitchen to get a hug from her and the Doctor would play jealous not to have been the first one to hug her. It was a game between them and he was always winning because she would give him a tight hug and a kiss. He was her favourite. He would always be her favourite and her anchor. Since a distance had appeared between Jackie and her, the only thing left of her former universe was him and she was clinging to him just as much as he was clinging to her not to lose himself.

“We home!”

The heavy Londoner accent of Tony echoed in the house followed by the unmissable sound of soaked shoes. Contrary to the Doctor, the little boy wasn’t taking off his shoes. He ran straight to her and jumped in her arms. She caught him and hugged him tight. She hadn’t seen him since they moved in Broadchurch. The separation had been hard for him but he got to see them for all the autumn’s holidays. Jackie trusted Rose with him. She had more troubles trusting the Doctor. But Rose was keeping him ‘in control’. As if he was a feral beast Rose had adopted. She wasn’t gonna improve their relationship by acting like this. There always was tension between them, a tension that wasn’t getting any better now that he was married to Rose, now that they had moved far from London. Rose had told him how Jackie had changed when she came here, when she got her Pete back but she was the same to him: she disliked and liked him all at once. She was making efforts only for Rose.

“You’re just in time for your favourite snack.”

Tony smiled widely at Rose while the Doctor was grumbling in the entrance hall. He was having a go at the rain, at how humans were vulnerable to the slightest change of temperature and how much he was cold now that he was soaked. Autumn was a detestable season and he wanted to be back to the warm and nice seasons already.

“I’m sure Mum already cooked some for you but I’d thought you’d like my own mix of holidays’ cookies and biscuits.”

“The ones with chocolate inside and icing sugar on top and funny shapes?”

“Yep.”

“Mum doesn’t cook them anymore. She said that you shouldn’t feed my head with these stupid stories.”

“Jackie’s an idiot.”

“Doctor!”

The man in question came in the kitchen with two large paper bags full to the top. This caught Rose’s attention but he pushed her hand away when she tried to have a look inside. His only mission had been to get Tony at the train station. Of course Jackie had been told that Rose was driving. The Doctor didn’t have a real car licence. They had made a fake one because he could perfectly drive a car without lesson. He had been taught how to years ago. The trip had been longer than she thought it would take. The two bags explained everything.

“Don’t you dare telling me otherwise.”

“That’s our mum still. _Our_ family.”

She was including him in this family because he was part of it now. He had accepted to be part of it when he married Rose. He had accepted to be part of it the day he fell in love with the blonde woman who healed his hearts and made a work of art of him. A masterpiece only her could see. No one else was able to see past the ears, past the looks, past the title.

“You’re right. Sorry.”

“You’re good.”

“Where’s the cookie jar?”

Rose rolled her eyes, told Tony to take off his wellies and the Doctor to clean the mess. This house wasn’t cleaning itself up like the TARDIS seemed to do when they were on board. He hated domestics but he also hated dirt. He loved a clean place so he cleaned the mess left by Tony. And when he came back, he was carrying a huge Christmas tree.

“Where the fuck did you find that?”

“Tsk. Language.”

“No, seriously, where have you found this?”

The Doctor gave her a cheeky smile and placed the tree in a corner of a living room where they would all be able to see it effortlessly. It would be the most beautiful – and only – Christmas tree of this planet. This year, Rose, Tony and him would celebrate this particular holiday together. This version of him wasn’t much of a party-goer but he loved the spirit and magic of Christmas. It brought him back to better times, made him feel like a child full of hope. He never truly celebrated it before. He was always busy fighting aliens and protecting the universe against itself. This year was the first real time he would be able to celebrate it with an almost peaceful mind.

There was a squeal from the kitchen followed by the laugh of both Tony and Rose. Laugh of happiness and excitement. The Doctor had to repress the urge to sigh and scowl at them for being unable to wait until he allowed them to look into the bags he had left in the kitchen. There wasn’t much in there: just a couple garlands and ornaments for the house. There was more in the trunk of the car. He wanted to do things well for this first Christmas in this world.

“I’ve been looking literally everywhere and couldn’t never find anything that looked like this. What is your secret?”

She had met with him in the living room. They were standing together in front of the naked tree that only waited for them to decorate it. The Doctor wrapped an arm around Rose’s waist and put his other hand on Tony’s shoulder. This truly was a family picture. Maybe they would have it with Rose in the future, when they would be ready to settle down for real…


	3. Chapter 3

The house was smelling like gingerbread and sweets and happiness was dripping through every window and door of the place. The Doctor was busy hanging garlands and fairy lights on their home. Wrapped into warm clothes, a tools’ belt around his waist, he was ever so seriously accomplishing his mission. He was even whistling a music from centuries ago. The TARDIS was always customising herself according to the seasons and holidays. He never had anything to do then – not that he cared about all of that – and he had to trust his incredible instincts in terms of decoration. For such a work, he should be rewarded with a glass of eggnog he was distilling in Rose’s workshop. Rose wasn’t very happy with the installation but she agreed that it was the safest place to keep Tony from playing with it.

The Doctor rubbed his hands together and blew on them. A small cloud of white smoke formed itself in the chilly air. It was getting chiller and chiller with every passing minute or was it an impression? He smiled at his decoration. Rose and Tony would love it. He raised his head, looked at the clear skies. White flakes were starting to fall. Snow. The first snowflakes wee falling from the sky to complete the perfection of this work of art. This universe could bring some magic when it wanted. It was adding a tiny bit of authenticity to this Christmas they were creating. For Rose and him, it would bring nostalgia. For Tony, it would bring wonder and amazement. Jackie would go after them for putting such ideas in his head when he had to focus on his studies and become the perfect successor to Pete. What a boring life.

He heard a noise behind him and swiftly turned around, all senses on alert. There was no one. He was being observed though. There was a tingle on the back of his neck. The surroundings were quiet. Too quiet. This wasn’t normal. Nature seemed to have shut up all of a sudden. The atmosphere was heavy, unbreathable. Something was terribly wrong. There was movement. He saw it in the corner of his eye. A black silhouette. He followed the move, found nothing. He wasn’t giving up. He never gave up on a mystery when all of him was screaming for danger and danger meant adrenaline. This was all he was asking for and his wishes were finally granted. He abandoned his task of decorating the house – he was thinking about adding a Christmas tree outside… or maybe two, one on each side of the front door – and followed the move of the dark silhouette like Hamlet had been following the spectre of his father.

“Who are you?” he asked.

The silhouette vanished. He was alone, on the edge of the cliff their house had been built on. The wind was blowing in his back so hard that he was stumbling. There had been this one time he had been standing like this, on the edge of an abyss, and Rose had pushed him away from there. Where was she now? The house looked so far away, lost in the blizzard. The silhouette returned, behind him, but it wasn’t so dark anymore. Instead, it was shining bright and an intense warmth spread in his body when it put a hand on his shoulder. This was familiar and unfamiliar all at once. He was surrounded by an infinite and passionate love soiled with such a deep sadness that it was unbearable.

His warm compassionate smile faded when he turned around and his only human heart dropped in his chest. Rose was facing him, but not the Rose he was now married to. This one was a ghost from a past life with a golden halo. It was Rose and it wasn’t Rose. Why was Bad Wolf coming after him after all this time? After everything was finally over?

“You shouldn’t be here. You _can’t_ be here.”

“You let me die, Doctor. You let the Vortex burn inside me until there was nothing left of me.”

She was blaming him but none of this had happened. Not in his timeline. Not in her timeline either. He had kissed her and saved her and they lived many more adventures together. Bad Wolf hadn’t consumed her. Never would he have let this happen.

“No. No, I saved you.”

“Liar!”

“I gave up on my life to save you.” He cupped her cheeks wet with tears. “I swear on my life I would never have been able to let a flower as beautiful as you wither and die. I can’t even forgive myself for leaving you with pretty boy.”

“Your words are lies and your mind is full of hatred. You despise the Daleks but you are just like them.”

“We are not the same, I’m not…”

Arguing with the ghost of a person who could see all of the past, present, future and timelines that could ever have been was useless. Bad Wolf was a fusion between the selfless Rose and his faithful TARDIS. They knew everything about him, could see even the darkest corners of his mind and heart. His soul was bare and he had been declared to be a bad man.

His hands fell by his sides. It was pointless to argue, pointless to explain himself. He had done and said things that would haunt him forever but there was one thing he refused to admit, one thing he knew for sure would never happen in any of the existing parallel universes: he would never let Rose, his so precious Rose, die in any possible way.

“I have killed and lied and cheated for my survival. I have fought wars and been to Hell and back. I have done more harm to the universes than anyone, including Daleks, could ever do. I would have killed myself if you hadn’t been thrown on my way. Now what? You have saved me. You pulled me up, made me a better man. This human life will never be long enough to redeem myself from all those crimes. I’m ready to accept your sentence, whatever it is.”

For a moment, there was nothing but the silence. Then, the ghost of Rose grabbed his shirt and pulled him close to her. Her lips pressed on his and for a second, he believed that he was given grace, but he was actually given a kiss of death. Bad Wolf was sucking all of his vital energy and he had no way to escape the fate he deserved.

Rose was sat in the kitchen, a steaming mug of tea before her. It was getting cold but she wasn’t even noticing it. Her eyes were glued to the ticking clock above the door. Time was a ridiculous concept when you were traveling through it. It wasn’t when she had to sit there and stare. She had been sitting there for only a couple of minutes and it was already more than she could take.

Tony was in the living room. He was watching over the bloody idiot she had as husband. An idiot who had no control on the weather, on the combination of factors that had led him to fall from that ladder he was on and knocked him out. He had been conscious when she had run outside to check on him. He had joked about the fact he couldn’t be easily killed and then, had started babbling deliriously and had fainted.

The sonic screwdriver hadn’t detected anything abnormal or alarming that would have had them running to the hospital. The Doctor was in the clear, but he was stuck in a nightmare he wouldn’t wake up from. No reason to worry beside that but she was tempted to take him to the med bay of the TARDIS to confirm the sonic’s diagnosis. But there was Tony and as much as she loved her little brother, she was ready to unveil her secret time spaceship and have him telling the secret accidentally.

“Rosie! He’s awake!”

Rose jumped to her feet so fast that her chair fell to the ground with a loud noise. She didn’t stop and pick it up. She was already pressing an accusing finger in her husband’s chest and yelling at him for being a stupid idiot coming out and climbing on a ladder with such a wind outside.

Her reaction was astonishing and exaggerated for Tony. He couldn’t understand why she was lecturing the Doctor when she was nearly devastated in the kitchen minutes ago. Adults were complicated to follow. Far from answering his wife’s wrath the way he should have – his daddy was always yelling louder than his mummy when there were arguments – the Doctor cupped her cheeks and kissed her as if he hadn’t seen her in years. There was something desperate in this kiss, in the way he was holding Rose so she would stay close.

“What was that for?”

Rose was breathless when the Doctor let go and she was as surprised as Tony by this reaction. Usually, the Doctor only laughed and shrugged the argument off. He was unimpressed by her anger. Not today. Today, he was welcoming it as a good thing.

“I thought I’d lost you again.”

This talk was gonna take longer than expected. The Doctor’s biggest fear was to lose her. He was often having nightmares about those days he almost lost her, about the day he really lost her to better find her again later. Rose sent Tony to get them peppermint alcohol and glasses for two. The Doctor needed a topper to pull himself back together. The strong taste of peppermint and alcohol brought him back to his usual self.

“How the hell can you drink something like that? It’s even worse than Guinness and Butterbeer.”

“That’s a local liqueur. Not quite bad once you’re used to it.”

Yet, she herself made a face when she drank her shot in one go. Tony was trying to hold back his laugh at the Doctor’s face and way to get rid of the taste. The nightmare was gone, hiding in a corner of the human Time Lord’s mind. Rose gave him a piece of gingerbread she had been making with Tony earlier to completely cover the peppermint taste that was still burning his throat and stomach. They definitely knew how to create their alcohol here. He would have preferred a glass of eggnog instead of this terrible and strong beverage.

“Tony wanted to build a tent in the living room to watch the arrival of Santa Claus. I told him you were the best for it and that you would help him as soon as you would have some free time.”

“A tent? I’m the king of tents. I’m always free to build tents. You should have called me before I had the crazy idea of going outside.”

He was now laughing about the situation. It would come back later, when Rose and him would be alone and able to speak without Tony eavesdropping. This wasn’t a talk for the little boy. A little boy who was excitedly making room for the huge tent the Doctor was promising him…


	4. Chapter 4

“Have you ever been told the story of Jack O’ Lantern?”

The Doctor and Tony were sat under the large tent the human Time Lord had built with sheets, chairs and even the couch. He had used a Time Lord trick to make it look bigger on the inside. They could fit an entire room in this tent. Instead, they had put cushions and blankets on the ground. It was the greatest tent Tony ever had. The only one he ever had. Once he had built one in his bedroom. His nanny had found him, lectured him and forced him to clean his mess. He never ever did that mistake ever again. He didn’t want to be lectured for having fun. Which was happening every time he was having fun. They all seemed to forget that he was a kid and, as such, he needed to have fun so he could grow up as a decent man. However, fun wasn’t in their dictionary. As the only Tyler male, he was the inheritor of Pete’s empire and he had to behave.

Tony loved coming over at Rose’s place because she had little respect for those conventions and was showing him the real side of life, the one where you were having fun and still could grow up as a decent person. She had told him stories about her childhood in the Estates of London – that were far more dangerous and devastated in this universe – and how she had fought to become an ordinary woman until the Doctor swept her off her feet. She had had her ups and downs but she had had fun. Tony wished he could have such a life. He could only live it through Rose, through the Doctor who always had amazing stories to entertain him. Something Jackie hated about him – among all the other flaws she was finding in him. But it was only because he had stolen her daughter’s heart. That was what Tony’s nanny was saying.

“That’s our watchman’s nickname,” chuckled Tony.

“But you don’t know the real story.”

Tony leant forward. The Doctor was holding his sonic screwdriver under his chin like a torch. It was partly lightning his face and giving him a scary look. Tony was fascinated. The Doctor had tried to explain Christmas, had messed the story up and talked about Halloween instead. Another tradition they weren’t celebrating in this universe.

“Jack was a farrier in Ireland a long time ago. He was known for his greed, his nastiness and self-centredness but also for his love for alcohol. One night, he was in a pub and jostled Satan, the big bad boss of all devils. Satan tried to convince Jack to work for him to keep his soul but the farrier was cleverer than that. He asked for one last drink before accepting the deal. Satan turned into a six pence coin to pay for the drink. Jack pocketed it with a silver cross: Satan was trapped. The cross was a powerful artefact against him.”

No need to go into details for that one. Religious were a dangerous path to go on and since they didn’t seem to exist in this universe, the Doctor refused to be the one bringing them in. He wasn’t a believer. Neither were Rose and Jackie, the two only other persons beside him to have known about religions with their good and bad sides.

“That’s rubbish.”

“That’s not over.”

“So Satan doesn’t stay trapped.”

“Of course not. Jack convinced him not to take his soul in the next ten years. Satan and Jack met again after those ten years. It was on a road of the Irish countryside. When Satan asked for Jack’s soul again, the farrier asked him to pick an apple from the closest apple tree. Satan climbed on Jack’s shoulders and clung to the branches. And Jack carved a cross on the tree with his knife.”

“And Satan was trapped again.”

“Yep.”

“Did they make a new deal?”

“Yeah. But this time, Jack hadn’t been that lucky. The day he died, he was refused the gates of Heaven, of the good afterlife and the deal he had made with the great Devil prohibited him the access to Hell, to the bad afterlife. He was condemned to wander endlessly in-between those worlds. Satan tossed him a bit of burning coal that Jack placed in a carved turnip he used as a lantern to find his way in the dark until the end of times.”

“I thought we were celebrating Christmas in this house. Not the time to carve pumpkins.”

“But we’ve met Jack O’ Lantern once.”

Rose sneaked in the tent and settled down beside the Doctor. She put cornets full of roasted chestnuts on the ground between the three of them. She had been roasting them on the chimney’s fire that was burning bright to keep them warm in the house. The Doctor picked a chestnut and crunched it happily. There were small pleasures that were similar to what he knew in their universe. It was making it easier to live here.

“You did?”

“Yep. A long time ago. When we were traveling.”

“That was with Captain Jack.”

The Jack of this universe was a totally different person. He was a geek with big glasses, a serious problem with people and had an impressive intelligence. Their Jack wasn’t an idiot but compared to this one, he would have felt like it. No one was as clever as the Doctor. It didn’t mean they couldn’t get close to his superior intelligence.

“We decided to go on a hike.”

“You decided that it was a good idea!”

“I wasn’t the one who spent the night in a dance club getting drunk!”

“Obviously, you were refusing all the plans Jack was making up!”

“It only consisted on getting wasted and… ahem.”

“I never did the second part. It was only Jack.”

“Anyway, we did that hike.”

“That turned into a complete road trip by foot because you lost our vehicle.”

“I never lost my vehicle.”

Tony burst out laughing. At least, the Doctor and Rose were cute when they were arguing. There was never the threat of them splitting up or doing worse than just arguing. They loved each other too deeply to even think about splitting up. This was beautiful and Tony hoped to live something like this one day. Stupid tales would say his father. Pete didn’t believe in these things. After all, his real Jackie had died when the Doctor came in his world for the first time and the one he had gotten to replace her was too wild and independent for his liking.

“Anyway, we were walking through a forest. Night was falling. There was a thick mist and we were getting lost in the woods. And there was this soft glow traveling in the dark. A silhouette carrying a carved turnip and looking for its way just like us.”

“I’m still convinced it was Jack playing a trick on us.”

“Maybe. Or maybe not. We’ll never know.”

“You could write books, you know? With all the bullshit you say.”

“I could, and they’d be serious books. Books of knowledge. Humans have a couple of things to learn, especially in this universe.”

The Doctor was a show-off, Rose was lecturing him on his Mr-Know-it-all attitude and Tony was laughing. He was the happiest little boy when he was around them. They took care of him like he was their child but also like their equal. He was so glad to have gotten the right to spend all his holidays here, away from the pressure his family was putting on him. He wondered if his big sister ever had to go through this pressure. From what he had heard, she was living her life freely and didn’t have the intention to change it. He wished he could be as free as her. If only he wasn’t the successor of Pete Tyler…

“Come on, you two. It’s bath time.”

“I can take my bath alone, thank you.”

“Well, one of the two is going to the bathroom, the other helps me with the dinner.”

“Bathroom occupied!” exclaimed the Doctor.

He crawled out of the tent and rushed upstairs. Rose wasn’t surprised to see him reacting this way. The Doctor wasn’t a man to cook. Sure he knew how to cook and he knew that very well but he also considered it as too domestic for him and refused to use his incredible talents. Even if it was to satisfy his wife’s taste buds. What a selfish man sometimes.

He felt forced to take Tony’s place when he found out that they weren’t done by the time he was out of the bathroom and pretended to be unhappy about it. Rose was aware that he was faking it all. This man was spending his time pretending things he wasn’t really thinking. Like the day he had called her a stupid ape. She had taken it badly then, but now, she was reading between the lines, seeing behind the mask he was wearing to protect himself in society. The Doctor was a complicated man and she was the only one able to understand him and to love him for who he really was.

“Are you being nice to be sure to have gifts on our Christmas celebration?”

“I prefer being naughty to unwrap the delicious present I have under my eyes.”

“You, naughty boy.”

The Doctor chuckled and Rose swayed her hips in a coquettish way and a gasp escaped her lips when he dropped what he was doing to pull her close to him. His hand grabbed her arse, his lips brushed her pulse point and she held her breath, not knowing what to expect from him now.

“Who is being naughty now, Rose Tyler?”

His voice was hoarse and Rose adventured her hand on the hard bump of his pants. She smirked. She wasn’t the only one to be naughty today. The hoarseness of his voice indicated how aroused he was feeling right now. She squeezed his groin, heard the muffled groan and was taken by surprise when she sucked on the tender skin of her neck. They didn’t go to the end of this naughty game. Tony was giving them an idea of what life with a child would be. Rose wanted to be a mother. This wish had grown more important with the birth of Tony. She had taken her big sister’s part to heart, and over the years, she had wanted a kid of her own. She just didn’t want to push the Doctor into this. He wasn’t ready. And what would it be like to have a Bad Wolf/Human Time Lord child? Certainly an interesting mix.

“What’s going on, Rose?”

The Doctor was in bed, lying on his side, his head casually placed on his hand, and he was watching Rose getting ready for bed. All evening she had been distraught by thoughts he couldn’t decipher. Something was bothering her. She joined him in bed and snuggled against him under the blanket. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her in for a hug.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t nothing me.”

“Nothing to worry about.”

“You won’t convince me.”

Rose sighed, “Fine. It’s a thought I have casually. It really nagged at me with Tony’s birth but your question that day…”

“My question?”

“When I told you there’s three of us.”

“Oh.”

The Doctor could be very stupid at understanding her sometimes but this was pretty clear. What she wanted was a family. She had been alone for so long in this world and she wouldn’t have filled this need or expressed it if a version of him hadn’t been trapped with her in this universe.

“It’s too early for you. Forget it.”

“Rose Tyler,” he looked at her straight in the eyes, “I’ll be more than honoured to have a family with you. Now, or later.”

He kissed her lips tenderly. She was astonished that he was so willing to have a family with her, so honoured that this man who had no ties and no home was now feeling comfortable enough to settle down and have children with her, a woman he loved passionately…


	5. Chapter 5

The table was covered with papers of different colours, glue sticks, bits of cut papers, cutting shapes, scissors, stickers, paint, Posca and a mix of silver and red flakes. In the middle of this mess, there were ranks of homemade invitation, cards, name tags and menus elegantly ornamented with Christmas themed elements like snowmen made with buttons of different sizes and colours, Christmas trees made with pine needles, pine cones made with bits of cardboards, candy canes made with paper straws. Those were things Tony had never seen in his entire life and he had been more than happy to help his sister crafting these little pieces of art. For him, it meant nothing because he never celebrated Christmas and because it was all new and secret – Pete must never know! – it was an exciting mission for the seven years-old boy.

In the middle of this mess, the Doctor found the blonde head of his wife. She had collapsed on her table of work after working really hard on the last details for their upcoming Christmas party. She wanted it all to be perfect and she was pushing herself to exhaustion. The Doctor had already cleaned Tony up and put him to bed. Now it was time for his lovely wife to follow the same path. She was working hard, too hard, for their celebration to be perfect. They could have chosen the emblematic date of December 25 for this because it was in the middle of the week and everyone was working. Instead, they had chosen December 21 and 22. It was in two weeks time so it was important for the invitation cards to be sent as soon as possible or no one would be available. They didn’t have many friends around here, just a handful, but it was more than enough.

The Doctor delicately picked Rose up. She protested, opened her eyes but ended up wrapping her arms around his neck and snuggling closer to his chest. He took her to the bedroom and lay her down. He carefully removed all leftovers of her artistic activities from her face and hair. He had always seen Rose as a young woman who was mature and clever for her age. More than other nineteen years old kiddos of her kiddos of her generation. With all the traveling they did and all the dangers they faced, she had grown up faster than she should have. This universe had completed her transformation into a grown-up woman. This was the first time in ages that he was seeing the child in her. Participating in this impossible Christmas revival was making her innocence and childish behaviour resurfacing. He congratulated himself for this idea. He was falling more and more in love with her.

As he needed less sleep than a normal human being, he was often pacing around the house and resolving grids of crosswords to keep busy until finally sleep came to him. Tonight, though, he had other projects. As soon as Rose was tucked in bed, he left a note on his pillow and used the wrist device that was formerly Jack’s. He profoundly disliked this device: it was having too nasty effects on the user. However the TARDIS wasn’t ready to travel yet. She still needed to mature. Better give her all the time she needed to be at the best. He was one careless driver and an insatiable traveller. She would see the universe. She would see his family, help with raising his children. That was how he had dreamt his life with Rose once. The house, the human friends, the ‘ordinary’ life were just good bonuses.

He was sprawled out on the bed when Rose woke up. All dressed in his signature outfit – jumper, leather jacket, black pants and boots – he had fallen asleep as soon as he had reached the bed. Strangely, he was wearing more colours than usual. These clothes were dark, reflecting the darkness of his soul when they had met and bringing a sort of protection to their owner. They were an homage to all the lost ones he was carrying on his shoulders with the damages of the war he was the only Time Lord to have survived to. Today, they were covered in an elegant mix of pastel and bright colours. On his head was resting a wreath of flowers Rose had only seen once in her life. The device around the Doctor’s wrist confirmed that he had been travelling while she was asleep. But what had he been up to in the galaxy? Why was he covered with flowers?

Like he had done for her the night before, she delicately took off his shoes and jacket. She left the flowers on him just for the pleasure of having him waking up later with them and gently mocking him. It was breaking his bad boy appearance, making him look like a soft warrior. The Doctor could have been one of the French soldiers who left fresh and joyful for the first World War had he not already lived the horrors a war could cause to a person, to a population, to a whole planet. He was a warrior recovering from this war that had happened long before they met, a war that would haunt his mind for as long as he would be alive. Flowers were a meagre comfort for the broken man who had a hard time pulling himself back together. Where would he be without her? Who would hold his hand during the dark times?

It was a question she still was asking herself. Less now than in the first days of her new life here, but sometimes she caught herself wondering who was holding the hand of the Doctor who was still running for his life. A thought she was keeping for herself not to sadden her Doctor. At least, he had her hand to hold; he had the woman he had always desired. And the Time Lord could make friends with anyone, as annoying as he could get when he was babbling relentlessly and considering the persons, humans or not, facing him like they were completely stupid. But if you were asking for help, he never refused and that made him a great friend. Being friend with such a person wasn’t without risk. You have to be prepared for the worst at any time. This life wasn’t for everyone. Some just couldn’t handle it. Rose had adjusted to this life for the man she had fallen in love with.

She went downstairs and cooked breakfast for the two men of the house who weren’t up yet. She had no idea when the Doctor had fallen asleep but Tony was sleeping in. She had never seen him sleep this late on mornings. The sound of his steps on the ground above her proved her wrong. The boy was up and he was coming her way for breakfast. She had put everything down on the table and was making pancakes by the time he joined her in the kitchen with dishevelled hair and a sleepy face. He mumbled a hello and settled down at the table to eat his breakfast and drink his hot chocolate. Rose smiled, ruffled his hair and kissed his head before dropping a couple pancakes in the empty plate beside him and covered them with honey. It was his favourite meal to have on morning. Something the Doctor loved too… if she added bananas that tasted like bananas.

“What is it, Rosie?”

“Hm?”

Rose sat down on the chair next to him for her morning tea. She had sugar and stirred the brewage for a perfect mix of the flavours. Tony was pointing to her tattoo. She was used to it now and didn’t notice it as much as she did before but to Tony, this was new. He hadn’t remarked it sooner. The lines were going from a wrist to the other in elegant lines forming long loops and drawing tight knots. The Doctor was wearing the same tattoos. He had had a harder time to get used to them. Maybe that was why he was wearing the leather jacket again: to avoid people’s looks on him now that he was vulnerable. Just like them all.

“That’s a tattoo.”

“Cool!”

“Mum didn’t find it cool when she has seen,” chuckled Rose.

“Dad has one too. That’s a number. He said that the day he met mum but she told me it was bollocks.”

It was. Pete had had that tattoo long before their mother came in this universe. He had revealed the meaning of it when she was her prisoner in one of his labs in Torchwood. It was connected to his activities in this huge institution of researches. The Cybermen and Daleks, the Void, they hadn’t been caused only by her original universe. Pete had helped with it and played dumb when everything happened. They all had been fooled by him and she was the only one to see the truth behind his mask. The numbers on his arm indeed were a date. The date of his entry in Torchwood which matched the date he had met Jackie in the other world.

“The Doctor and I are married,” explained Rose. “We did a hand-fastening marriage this summer and instead of wearing wedding rings, we chose to have the ribbons of love tattooed on our arms.”

“The Doctor has them too?”

“Yep,” replied the hoarse sleepy voice of the concerned man.

He had swapped his jumper for a T-shirt and I kept his pants and socks. His short sleeves revealed the lines tattooed on his arms. The exact same lines as Rose. He stuck his arms together for the pattern to be complete and Tony was amazed by the complexity and beauty of the arabesques forming the ribbons. He could have had them off in some planet in the far future but he had chosen to keep them. They were the symbol of his love and marriage with Rose and he was growing quite fond of them.

“We can get married with tattoos?”

“Not really. There’s a ceremony called hand-fastening. The engaged couple brings ribbons made with fabric that have a special meaning to the both of them. A qualified and close person to you tells the story of the hand-fastening and what it means to the engaged couple. You face your loved one, gather the ribbons and take the hands of their hands. Your right hand takes their left on and your left takes their right one so your arms are forming a sort of eight or an infinite sign. The person you’ve chosen to marry you fastens the ribbons around your joined hands and tie them with a nice knot. You say your vows and the ceremony is over.”

“But the tattoos?”

“There are married couples that feel the need to exchange gifts that were very personal and dear to them to symbolise their love and trust. Others choose to have bond tattooed for everyone to see their love. Or simply as a reminder of their bond. Rose loved the tattoo idea so we’ve picked it and it’s fantastic to see that our marriage wasn’t just a dream.”

The Doctor walked over to Rose and dropped a kiss on her lips. Tony had a wide smile. It made him so happy to be surrounded by so much warm love. He giggled when the Doctor ruffled his hair and tickled him. But he was so intrigued by what he whispered in his ear that he finished his breakfast and ran in the living room. Rose raised an eyebrow, the Doctor shrugged innocently and Tony squealed happily. Rose was intrigued so she went in the living room and there, she understood: in the night, the Doctor had built a fake chimney and had hung Christmas stockings on the mantel. There were one for each one of them and one for their friends. who were invited to their party. Every stockings was filled with chocolate and crackers and candy canes. Everything to make this first Christmas here even better. She threw herself in the Doctor’s arms. He really was _fantastic_.

“Oh, Rosie, it’s snowing!”

Tony put the stockings back on the chimney and ran to the closest window to watch the white flakes fall from the sky. Snow for Christmas, long time it hadn’t happened in their original universe. Thankfully global warming didn’t exist in this world. Somehow, they had managed to protect it for the future generations. As if anyone wanted to conceive and raise children in this full scary world. And since they were in a small quiet town, away from the big cities, the skies were as clear as they could be, offering them an impressive cover of shining stars to observe.an activity that the Doctor loved doing when was sitting in front of the patio door. When the night came, he chose to watch the stars with his little family: his wife and brother-in-law. But changing a habit had a certain price and he hadn’t seen it coming.

The stars were brighter than usual that night and watching them from inside the house was lessening this beautiful brightness. The Doctor wanted to climb in the rooftop but Rose firmly refused. It was too dangerous. She allowed him to watch them from outside on the condition that he was dressing up to face the cold. He ended up muffled up in a warm coat and scarf and gloves but also a pair of earmuffs he was sulking about. Rose had insisting on the fact she loved his big ears the way they were and didn’t want them to suffer from the cold. She won the battle obviously and he soon forgot the argument-that-wasn’t-really-an-argument. Standing in the snow and holding the hand of his wife while speaking about the stars he knew to Tony was better than sulking about stupid earmuffs that indeed were keeping his ears warm for Rose to sexily nibble them later…


	6. Chapter 6

The day had finally come. It was hard to tell who was the most excited. The Doctor would say that it was his Rosie but Tony wasn’t outdone. They were bouncing around the house and singing Christmas songs. Rose had gone through the entire repertory and taught them all to Tony who was more than happy to sing them at the top of his lungs along with his sister. The Doctor felt compelled to run away from the house to save his ears from the slaughter of songs he never liked anyway. He had learned to love Christmas with all his companions and if songs might have pleased some of his past incarnations, he wasn’t like that. Humans had taken the concept of Christmas too seriously and were overdoing it with the decorations and music and last-minute shopping rushes. Well, he hadn’t been better on that point. He had travelled in this universe to gather the best decorations and ingredients for a perfect celebration.

He was currently organising the last details for the evening: checking the exterior’s decorations, all the cables; making sure the fairy lights would switch on at the right time and… shovelling the alley leading to the house. To magnify their Christmas, snow had decided to fall all night. The main roads of town had been cleared but it was up to the inhabitants to clear their places. Consequently, the Doctor was shovelling the alley, drawing a path in the middle of this white cover. Rose had insisted for him to wear a thick coat, a scarf, gloves and a hat. She didn’t want him to catch a cold. It wouldn’t be the right moment. He hadn’t been sick yet since he was a human. Except for the events of last summer, except for his depression. He had never gone through basic sickness and Rose thought he would handle it very badly. As if he was that vulnerable. She didn’t know him that well.

The night was slowly falling. Rose and Tony were in the kitchen. They were cooking the last dishes for the dinner and setting the table. The Doctor had provided everything they needed, had helped as much as he could – especially with the alcohol making. Now, his job was to welcome the guest when they would arrive. They shouldn’t be long. The meeting hour indicated on the invitation was drawing closer. The excitation and anxiety too. That was their first meal between friends. There would be a lot of people and that was an ordeal to eat in front of people, including people trained to notice every detail. Alec Hardy disliked him. Their relation had gotten better after he saved him on that boat. It wasn’t the best but it was better than it had been when they first met. In a couple months of time, it was an improvement. He had better bonds with the other guests. They were nicer, more agreeable. Hopefully, they wouldn’t remark his eating disorder.

“Don’t bite your nails. It’s gonna be alright.”

A soft hand topped his and gently forced him to put his fingers away form his mouth. It delicately wiped the saliva away and let go of his hand. Thankfully he hadn’t had the time to bite them too badly. His hands were red and cold. The temperatures had dropped and it was freezing outside. The windows were already decorated with ice crystals turning them opaque until the next morning. Their guests wouldn’t be surprised by the slippery roads. The Doctor had thrown salt all over their alley so they could park safely. And if they had to stay over for the whole night, the guest rooms were ready.

“It’s just a bunch of friends. You’ve met them already.”

“Ellie and Beth are fine but…”

“Because they’re women?” Rose mocked him.

“Because they’re not Shitty Face and God-Botherer.”

“Don’t call them that.”

He only gained a slap on the chest with such nicknames. Rose dragged him inside the house. Tony was watching cartoons on telly and wouldn’t move from there until the guests arrive. He was wearing an elf costume and hadn’t forgotten about the ears. Rose had picked a red dress and had worked hard on it to turn it into a full Mother Christmas costume for herself. He was the one who made Tony’s costume with the TARDIS’ help. He had told Rose that he had bought it on a market in a galaxy far, far away but she was seeing through the lie and had guessed the truth. It had been her idea to wear matching outfits that were Christmas related. He was supposed to wear a Santa Claus costume, had refused but the clothes on the counter weren’t the ones he had picked earlier. He gave Rose a suspicious look.

“You swapped my clothes.”

“Yup.”

“Yup,” he repeated, exasperated. “I said no.”

“You sound like Donna, careful love;”

“Doesn’t that scare you to death?”

“Donna had a terrible temper but she was a great and faithful friend.”

“I can’t deny that. But you’re avoiding the subject.”

“That’s just black pants and a red shirt,” she sighed. “You’re no fun.”

She gave up on him to focus on her reflection in the mirror. The clothes were the first part of her getting ready for the celebration of their first Christmas. Now, she had to comb her hair and do her make-up. She didn’t need his help for that so he pulled on the red and white striped socks, the black pants and the red shirt. On the chest pocket, he noticed an embroidered white gift. One of the loops of its ribbon was continuing its course and forming elegant words on the pocket. Santa Claus. Discreet and distinguished. That, he really liked. And for that reason, he accepted to wear the formal shoes and Christmas hat.

He ignored Rose’s smile in the mirror and left the bathroom. He just had the time to check on Tony before the first doorbell rang. A brief push on the button. Someone serious. Probably the one the Doctor wanted the least to be left alone with. Opening the front door proved him right: the detective Alec Hardy was standing on the threshold. His daughter Daisy was with him. She gave the Doctor a smile when Hardy just nodded a hello.

“Dad was very intrigued by your ‘Christmas’ thing,” chuckled Daisy. “But I still had to convince him to come over. Last time he has been invited was at Ellie’s.”

“And I brought wine, flowers and chocolate as gifts because I had no idea of what to bring at a dinner with other people.”

“That’s what the conventions want when we’re living in society. No one takes in consideration that we might not be comfortable with these things.”

For once, the detective was being nice. Was it because he was invited over? Because he was with his daughter? Or just because of said conventions? They were all gathered in the living room, sat on the couch and armchair while Tony was still on the ground, the eyes locked on the telly. They would turn it off when everyone would be here.

Ellie joined them a couple minutes later with her sons, Fred and Tom. Behind her was Beth and her young daughter Elizabeth. Obviously, they had forgotten about their feud – more than a feud, it was Beth who couldn’t cope with the fact that Joe, Ellie’s estranged husband, was responsible for the death of her son, Danny. They had decided to forget this fact for a whole evening obviously.

The Reverend Paul Coates was the last one to arrive. Reverend was just a name he was given since there was no clerical hierarchy here. He did believe in a superior entity watching over them all. There was just no word, no story to confirm his beliefs. People were going to him when they needed to talk to someone who wasn’t a doctor. The man was nice, full of optimism and he could find the right words when needed. That was his bad habit to always trying to convince everyone of his truth was the only thing the Doctor had to reproach to him.

The celebration truly started when Rose honoured them of her presence. The Doctor was speechless when he saw her coming downstairs in her red dress, combed hair and perfect make-up. His heart might have stopped too. Rose had to whisper in his ear for the spell to be broken, for him to snap back to reality. His pupils were dilated and his heart was beating hard. He couldn’t wait for the moment he would be able to slip that dress down her body. He was the only one not to be single tonight. Well, maybe.

Their Christmas was a real success and everyone was filled with joy. They enjoyed this party they knew nothing about weeks ago. Beth even said that she would probably celebrate it again next year. Ellie thought it was a nice tradition to have, Paul agreed and Hardy… Hardy was being Hardy. Happy but sullen. Daisy was translating his expressions, reading between the lines of a father that almost never showed anything.

When midnight rang, the Doctor picked the large bag of gifts from the workshop and distributed them all to the guests, Rose and Tony. It was a big surprise to everyone who didn’t know about Christmas and they unwrapped their package to find out the small present their hosts were offering them. Everyone seemed to appreciate and the Doctor was looking at them all with a smile.

“You forgot a present, Doc,” noticed a tired Tony.

“Nope.”

“Where’s yours?”

“I don’t offer gifts to myself. And I have all I need here.”

His arm encompassed the table where his family and friends were all gathered. The one life he thought he would never have. The one life he was living day after day. This was the most precious gift he could ever have asked for.

“Actually, I have one for you.”

Rose got up and walked to her workshop. She grabbed the package she was keeping hidden in one of her boxes of art supplies. It was a little nothing, just a frame she had made herself with pictures of him and her. A frame he could hang anywhere in the house.

“Do you like it?”

Rose was very anxious about her art and needed to be reassured all the time about it. The Doctor wasn’t pronouncing a word and that didn’t help with her anxiety. However, he was so moved by this small gift that he couldn’t find the right words.

“I love it,” he finally articulated. “Everyone will be jealous. Now, they can see how talented and beautiful my wife.”

The concerned wife blushed while their friends were laughing at the cuteness of their love. They certainly were jealous of their happiness. Especially when Tony pointed out that there was a branch of mistletoe above their heads, obliging them to share a kiss for the tradition to be respected…


End file.
